THE CONSERVATION POLICY.

The policy of the conservation is a development of the present administration of President Roosevelt. Its beginnings are to be found in parts of his annual message of 1906, dealing with public land questions. The first step in definite action to make ready a program was the appointment by the President of the Inland Waterways Commission; and in his letter notifying the members of their appointment, the President formulated the fundamental principles of the policy. The findings and recommendations of that Commission, transmitted to Congress by the President on February 26, 1908, with the special message which accompanied it, was the next step forward; and the White House Conference of May 13, 14, and 15, 1908, which was presided over by the President and attended by the Governors of the States and Territories, including Alaska, Porto Rico, and Hawaii, fairly launched the movement before the country at large.

In his address before the National Editorial Association at Jamestown, Va., June 10, 1907, President Roosevelt said:

"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper use constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life. Unless we maintain an adequate material basis for our civilization we can not maintain the institutions in which we take so great and so just pride; and to waste and destroy our natural resources means to undermine this material basis."

In his message to the 60th Congress, which assembled December 2, 1907, President Roosevelt said:

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"The conservation of our natural resources and their proper constitute the fundamental problem which underlies almost every other problem of our national life. We must maintain for our civilization the adequate material basis without which that civilization can not exist. We must show foresight, we must look ahead. As a nation we do not only enjoy a wonderful measure of present prosperity, but if this prosperity is used aright it is an earnest of future success such as no other nation will have. The reward of foresight for this nation is great and easily foretold. But there must be the look ahead, there must be a realization of the fact that to waste, to destroy, our natural resources, to skin and exhaust the land instead of using it so as to increase its usefulness, will result in undermining in the days of our children the very prosperity which we ought by right to hand down to them amplified and developed."

In his letter inviting the Governors of all the States and Territories to meet with him at the White House, May 13, 14, and 15, 1908, to discuss the question of the Conservation of the Nation's Natural Resources the President said, in part:

"It seems to me time for the country to take account of its natural resources, and to inquire how long they are likely to last. We are prosperous now; we should not forget that it will be just as important to our descendants to be prosperous in their time.

"Recently I declared there is no other question before the nation of equal gravity with the question of the conservation of our natural resources, and I added that it is the plain duty of us who, for the moment, are responsible to take inventory of the natural resources which have been handed down to us, to forecast the needs of the future and so handle the great sources of our prosperity as not to destroy in advance all hope of the prosperity of our descendants.

"It is evident the abundan natural resources on which the welfare, of the nation rests are becoming depleted, and, in not a few cases, are already exhausted. This is true of all portions of the United States; it is especially true of the longer settled communities of the East.

"Facts, which I cannot gainsay, force me to believe that the conservation of our natural resources is the most weighty question now before the people of the United States. If this is so the proposed conference, which is the first of its kind, will be among the most important gatherings in our history in its effect upon the welfare of all our people."

The Governors of the States and Territories at the White House assembled, after having discussed the conservation of the country's natural resources for three days, united in the adoption of the following "Declaration of Principles:"

"We, the Governors of the States and Territories of the United States of America, in conference assembled, do hereby declare the conviction that the great prosperity of our country

rests upon the abundant resources of the land chosen by our forefathers for their homes, and where they laid the foundation of this great nation.

"We look upon these resources as a heritage to be made use of in establishing and promoting the comfort, prosperity, and happiness of the American people, but not to be wasted, deteriorated, or needlessly destroyed.

"We agree that our country's future is involved in this; that the great natural resources supply the material basis upon which our civilization must continue to depend, and upon which the perpetuity of the nation itself rests.

“We agree, in the light of the facts brought to our knowledge and from information received from sources, which we cannot doubt, that this material basis is threatened with exhaustion. Even as each succeeding generation from the birth of the nation has performed its part in promoting the progress and development of the Republic, so do we in this generation recognize it as a high duty to perform our part; and this duty in large degree lies in the adoption of measures for the conservation of the natural wealth of the country.

"We declare our firm conviction that this conservation of our natural resources is a subject of transcendent importance, which should engage, unremittingly the attention of the Nation, the States, and the people in earnest cooperation. These natural resources include the land on which we live and which yields our food; the living waters which fertilize the soil, supply power, and form great avenues of commerce; the forests which yield the material for our homes, prevent erosion of the soil, and conserve the navigation and other uses of the streams; and the minerals which form the basis of our industrial life, and supply us with heat, light, and power.

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"We agree that the land should be so used that erosion and soil-wash shall cease; and that there should be reclamation of arid and semi-arid regions by means of irrigation, and of swamp and overflowed regions by means of drainage; that the waters should be so conserved and used as to promote navigation, to enable the arid regions to be reclaimed by irrigation, and to develop power in the interests of the people; that the forests which regulate our rivers, support our industries, and promote the fertility and productiveness of the soil should be preserved and perpetuated; that the minerals found so abundant beneath the surface should be so used as to prolong their utility; that the beauty, healthfulness, and habitability of our country should be preserved and increased; that sources of national wealth exist for the benefit of the people, and that monopoly thereof should not be tolerated.

"We commend the wise forethought of the President in sounding the note of warning as to the waste and exhaustion of the natural resources of the country, and signify our high appreciation of his action in calling this conference to consider the same and to seek remedies therefor through cooperation of the Nation and the States.

"We agree that this cooperation should find expression in suitable action by the Congress within the limits of and coextensive with the national jurisdiction of the subject, and, complementary thereto, by the legislatures of the several States within the limits of and co-extensive with their jurisdiction.

"We declare the conviction that in the use of the national resources our independent States are interdependent and bound together by ties of mutual benefits, responsibilities, and duties.

"We agree in the wisdom of future conferences between the President, Members of Congress, and the Governors of States on the conservation of our natural resources with a view of continued cooperation and action on the lines suggested; and to this end we advise that from time to time, as in his judg ment may seem wise. the President call the Governors of States and Members of Congress and others into conference.

We agree that further action is advisable to ascertain the present condition of our natural resources and to promote the conservation" of the same: and to that end we recommend the appointment by each State of a Commission on the Conserva- ́

tion of Natural Resources, to cooperate with each other and with any similar commission of the Federal Government.

“We urge the continuation and extension of forest policies adopted to secure the husbanding and renewal of our diminishing timber supply, the prevention of soil erosion, the protection of headwaters and the maintenance of the purity and navig ability of our streams. We recognize that the private ownership of forest lands entails responsibilities in the interests of all the people, and we favor the enactment of laws looking to the protection and replacement of privately owned forests.

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"We recognize in our waters a most valuable asset of the people of the United States, and we recommend the enactment of laws looking to the conservation of water resources irrigation, water supply, power, and navigation, to the end that navigable and source streams may be brought under complete control and fully utilized for every purpose. We especially urge on the Federal Congress the immediate adoption of a wise, active, and thorough waterway policy, providing for the prompt improvement of our streams and the conservation of their watersheds required for the uses of commerce and the protection of the interests of our people.

"We recommend the enactment of laws looking to the prevention of waste in the mining and extraction of coal, oil, gas, and other minerals with a view to their wise conservation for the use of the people, and to the protection of human life in the mines."

The Forest Policy.

The Forest policy of the Government is not a party issue, for it has had the support of both the Republican and the Democratic parties, but it has been developed mainly under Republican leadership. President Roosevelt has done more than any other President to establish and extend it, through his messages to Congress and through executive action in creating National Forests (or "reserves"). These Forests, preserved for the use of the people as unfailing supports of industry and sources of present and future prosperity, will be for all time a national monument to his foresight.

The law authorizing the creation of National Forests was passed by a Republican Congress (the Fifty-first) and action under that law was begun by a Republican President (Harrison). The law authorizing the administration of these Forests along the present lines was passed by another Republican Congress (the Fifty-fifth). The law transferring the control of the Forests from the Department of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture was passed by the Republican Fifty-eighth Congress. The appropriations for the Government's forest work have from 1898 to the present time been increased by successive Republican Congresses. It may justly be claimed that the Republican party, the party of action, has contrived and put into effect this great and now accepted policy, though the Demorcatic party, the party of opposition, has never disputed its wisdom.

Under these laws, there have been set aside and placed under the administration of the Forest Service over 166,000,000 acres of the public domain. This land is kept in public ownership for the public benefit. The National Forests embrace the more mountainous parts of the West. They maintain the flow of streams, conserving water supply for irrigation and power, as well as maintaining a steady supply of timber for the West. They also permit the best use of the forage crop without injury to other interests. They do not close the land to prospecting and mining development, nor to agriculture where the land is more valuable for agriculture than for forest growth, but they protect the general welfare by preventing the evils which follow forest destruction. They are administered by the Forest Service, which opens them to every use consistent with the permanent good of the West. Mature timber is sold, or is given away to settlers and communities for whom it would be a hardship to buy,, under regulations which insure the perpetuation of the forests through new growth. Each National Forest is in charge of a Supervisor, who is a local agent to conduct business with forest

users and to look after the protection of the forest. Under him are forest rangers and guards. These local officers are Western men, in touch with local conditions, but controlled by the Forester, who administers the policy embodied in existing law by the Acts of Congress.

The fundamental principle of this policy is development. Before the administration of these Forests was provided for their resources were closed against the public. Now they are for all the use that can be got out of them-the more the better so long as it is real use, not spendthrift waste. They are for all kinds of use, not for one kind merely; for the benefit of the public, not for the personal benefit of the first man who might be able to get hold of them, regardless of the injury he might do the public.

Development of these Forests is taking place through heavy expenditures by the Government, but these expenditures are wise because they will greatly increase the usefulness of the Forests. In the last two years Congress has appropriated $1,100,000 for such permanent improvements as roads, bridges, trails, telephone lines, fire-fighting equipment, and rangers quarters. These are investments of capital for the public benefit. Settlers, stockmen, miners, lumbermen, all who use the Forests, will profit by them. They will also aid in the protection of the Forests. To promote use the Forest must be opened up. All that they have in them must be made accessible.

This development of the Forests is for the sake of the development and permanent welfare of the country, not for the sake of the Government as their owner. The Government is not in the position of a landlord. If private interests owned and developed them it would be for the sake of the return they could be made to yield in money profits. The Government is developing them for the sake of the return they can be made to yield in sustained prosperity. The standing timber is cut as it is needed by the people without decreasing the flow of water-also needed by the people-without causing rivers and harbors to fill up with mud as they are all the time filling up in the East, and without loss of the power of the land to grow more forests for future use. preservation and fullest development of the water of the United States, for use in irrigation, as a means of transportation, and as a source of power, is vital to our future welfare.

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Forest preservation concerns every great Western interest. The interests of the farmer, the stockman, the miner, the lumberman, the merchant, and the transportation company, with that of the labor which they employ, demand and will demand continued supplies of water or wood from the National Forests. It is true that what is sometimes called development could be brought about faster by giving these Forests away. If Congress should open the National Forests to homestead entry without restrictions, some of the States with large National Forests in them would develop very rapidly-for a time. The National Forests are now open to homestead entry wherever the land is chiefly valuable for agriculture. Some of the "homesteads" applied for have from $10,000 to $15,000 worth of timber on them. If all timberland were open to entry, every man who will stop to think twice knows what would be the result. There would be a big boom while the timber lasted, followed by a collapse. It would be good for the people who would pocket the proceeds and move ay, but bad for the country. It would be good for the lumber business while the forests were being cut, but the death of the lumber business when they were gone. would for a few years make plenty of work, put money in circulation, and stimulate trade, but it would in the long run mean the decline and ruin of many communities and the impoverishment of the State.

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But it may be asked: If the Forest policy is to develop the Forests for the benefit of the people, not for the benefit of the Government as landlord, why does it lay a tax on those who use them? The Government no more lays a tax on users of the Forests when it charges them for value received than it lays a tax on other citizens when it receives money for postage stamps sold or for land taken up. In the last ten years it has spent, to develop and protect the Forests for the benefit of the people, who

about $7,000,000.

own them, and to carry on the business incidental to their use, It has received from them in these ten years about $4,600,000. The receipts from the Forests are now increasing rapidly, but so are the expenditures necessary to develop their usefulness. The cost of keeping them from burning up. of seeing to it that they are so used that the rights of everybody are protected, of seeing that the Forests are made to yield right along, year after year, as much wood, as much water, and as much forage as possible for the support of the Western people and their industries, added to the cost of permanent improve ments, is bound to be heavy. Therefore the consumers of the wood and forage which the forests grow, and those who sell for their own profits the power which streams within the Forests supply, are called on to make a reasonable contribution toward the maintenance and development of these sources of their individual gain. No other arrangement would be either fair or possible. Congress could not justly take from the National treasury the great sums which must be spent yearly upon these Forests while making a free gift to a comparatively few individuals of wood, forage, and land for power development, that they may enrich themselves at public expense. The States in which the National Forests lie are still debtors to the Nation for expenditures on their behalf, and will probably remain so for a good while to come.

Though the Government has steadily increased the expendi tures for carrying out its forest policy, the net cost to the people for this work was less in the fiscal year 1907 than in any previous year since 1899, the very first year in which anything at all was spent on the reserves. Yet in 1899 there were only 44.009 000 acres of National Forests, while in 1907 there were 150.000.000 acres. The following statement shows what all the forest work of the Government has cost each fiscal year, beginning with 1899, what the forests have yielded to the Government, and what the total area of the National l'orests has been at the end of each year:

Statement of cxpenditures on account of Forestry and receipts from National Forests.

[Expenditures fer 1998 based on allotinents; receipts estimated.}

a Yoministration of National Forests transferred to Forest Service, February 1, 1995.

The Forest policy of the Government is not confined to the care and development of the forests which the National Government owns and holde as trustee for the people. It includes also the effort to bring about the best use of all timber lands and all forest products in the United States. in the interest of the general welfare, which is so clearly dependent on continuing supplies of wood and water. The Forest Service studies to find out both how to make the best use of what we now have on haud and how to get more as cheaply, abundantly, and rapidly as possible.